Untouched Bowl of Ramen
by Rome OMD
Summary: Sasuke explores Naruto’s apartment and remembers.


Summary: Sasuke explores Naruto's apartment and remembers.

Part(s): One-shot

Rating: G

Author: Rome OMD

Date of Completion: 1/22/07

Date of Publication: 2/2/07

Author's Note(s): I love Naruto and so does Sasuke. That's why this is so OOC and optimistic.

Disclaimer: All _Naruto _characters, settings, and plot line references used in this story belong to its original creator and are used without permission in the following non-profit piece of fictional work.

Untouched Bowl of Ramen

Not once had Sasuke entered Naruto's apartment before today. But never had he any reason to, for he had always spent his days training to become stronger, so that he would be able to defeat his older brother, in whose shadow he had drowned for what he thought had been too many years. How could he spare even one minute in a seemingly pointless visit to anyone's house, never mind Naruto's? But now, he thought, how could he not? He nowadays felt unrelenting regret for not having ever paid Naruto a visit because of a blinded ambition, and it only intensified when he touched the doorknob.

Sasuke could tell by the way everything was messily thrown all over the place that on the morning he had left, Naruto had had a hectic start, even by Naruto-standards. A bowl, filled with cold, half-eaten ramen, rested alone on the kitchen countertop, which Sasuke could see, because the kitchen was attached to the small living room, into which the front door led. He quickly threw the bowl into the trash barrel, seeing unnatural white foam dotted around the noodles and sticking to the insides of the bowl. _He's probably got a decade's worth of ramen loaded in those cabinets anyway._ The stench did not disappear even when the bowl did, forcing him to take slow, cautious breaths in addition to opening all the windows.

Sprawled over the couch were Naruto's pajamas and his ridiculously juvenile teddy-bear nightcap. Sasuke imagined Naruto's morning: Jumping out of bed with a yelp, after finding Kakashi-sensei by his window ("Oh, crap…something, something…_dattebayo_!"), explaining that the Hokage (though Naruto still called her Tsunade-baachan, even at eighteen) had a very important mission for him to complete ASAP; then, hopping towards the kitchen, struggling to simultaneously take off his pajamas while putting on his uniform; afterwards, gulping down what he could of his ramen (no time to chew the noodles or veggies) before being shoved out the door by an insouciant _jounin_. And in his rush, the crystal necklace that Tsunade had given him several years earlier slipped from his possession without his knowledge. Sasuke saw the precious item lying on the floor and placed it carefully on the nearest table.

He fingered Naruto's pajamas, before turning around to survey the area around him for anyone who might just see him at that moment—through the window for people outside, at the windows of neighboring apartments for even more, within Naruto's living room for any suspicious activity (just in case)—before he brought the material to his nose and inhaled. Momentarily erasing the detail from his memory that the clothing had not been washed for months, he found that it expectedly smelled of Naruto but unexpectedly brought about a comfortable type of warmth that was similar to that of a fireplace during the icy clutches of a winter day.

The telephone's abrupt ringing immediately pulled Sasuke out of his reverie and promptly reminded him that smelling Naruto's clothing, never mind treasuring his scent, was a very forbidden and unacceptable form of behavior that was to be avoided at all costs if he wished to retain any semblance of his dignity. He quickly tossed the clothing back onto the couch, the incessant ringing bugging him like a fly buzzing about his ears. He glared at it, reflexively.

_He's not here. I won't answer. Not that I could anyway._

He mentally shut out the obnoxious ringing as he entered Naruto's bedroom. He was not shocked as he saw the messiness that marked almost every inch of the room, but, of course, that did not mean that he approved of it either. The first few steps successfully avoided stepping on anything of Naruto's that slept on the floor but by the time he reached the closet, Sasuke gave up, stepping on a lone sock as he kicked the comforter back onto the bed where it belonged. A framed picture loudly landed on the floor, grabbing Sasuke's attention.

Sasuke picked up the picture of Team 7 from the ground and used his shirt to clear it of the dust that had collected on the glass from months of neglect. Kakashi-sensei stood behind the three _genin_ with a half-lidded, almost bored look in his eyes but because he was once his student, Sasuke could see by Kakashi-sensei's smile that he held pride for the only team he had ever passed. Sakura mirthfully grinned at the camera, her pink hair flowing with the wind behind her. She had been kind, loving, and strong in ways that he was not, but he did not see these admirable traits within her then as clearly as he did now. Only when it is too late do adamant people finally realize the error of their earlier behaviors, and Sasuke was no exception. He glanced past himself in the picture, focusing instead on an orange-clad, whiskered-faced—

_Dobe_.

Naruto was loud, in-your-face annoying, and obstreperous, emanating all these traits with the wide grin he donned in the photograph. Strangely, as Sasuke continued to stare his intolerably orange clothing, his overly enthusiastic grin, and his ridiculously blue eyes, he felt a sudden emptiness at not having heard Naruto's obnoxious voice or been in the presence of said obnoxious fellow for what felt like too long. He continued holding the picture in his hand as he looked around Naruto's bedroom.

Because of his intrinsic perfectionist, almost persnickety, nature, one look at the room would usually bring about a condescending smirk or a snide remark about Naruto's lack of organization and focus. However, Sasuke knew Naruto better than that. He had a dream and spent all his time and energy pursuing it; Naruto could care less about the foofaraw of the misplaced blanket or the unrefined interior design. Despite the village's ostracism, he had held his head up high, working to become the next Hokage even if it included having to withstand the derisive and shunning looks the villagers daily threw at him. And he did so, with uncompromising endurance. Naruto was tenacious, hard-working, dedicated, pure-hearted, and (this still made Sasuke twitch even after all these years) loving. (It also made him nearly topple over whenever he thought about admitting even to only himself the fact that these characteristics pulled him unwillingly towards Naruto.)

Had Sasuke seen past his blind ambition, his once seemingly endless quest for power, Naruto probably would have been able to return from the mission that morning, clean up all his stuff, and continue pursuing his dream of becoming Hokage. But as Sasuke remembered what Naruto had once said—that if he could not even save his friend, then he did not deserve to become Hokage—and remembered that he was that very friend, that unwelcome painful feeling, having emerged from time to time, wrenched within him, which he tried to ignore by changing his current train of thoughts.

Naruto had kept his _hitae-ate_ since their battle at the Valley of the End—_I wonder where he kept it._

"Right here." Sasuke turned around to the source of the voice. "I had it with me when I died." Naruto paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "It's still weird hearing those words; thought I'd already gotten used to it. Guess not." And surely, as he said it, Sasuke saw his _hitae-ate_ tightly held in Naruto's clenched hand.

"Finished snooping through my stuff?"

"There is nothing wrong with visiting your apartment. I never had the chance to before."

"Yeah, you did."

Sasuke's gaze faltered just a bit.

"What should I do with this?" Naruto asked, holding up the _hitae-ate_.

"Give it to me," Sasuke said; "Better on my forehead than trapped in those sweaty hands of yours."

This solicited an unexpected laugh from Naruto, surprising the other. "I saw you smelling my pj's," Naruto said, smiling a devious foxy smile.

"Mind your own business, _usuratonkachi_."

Naruto let the subject go but kept a smirk on his face. "How's Sakura?"

"Because I was under house-arrest and constant watch by the ANBU, I was never granted the opportunity to talk with her without having at least one incompetent ninja spying on me somewhere behind my back. It was almost, and I emphasize 'almost', as bad as enduring Orochimaru's imprecation. She did visit once, though. She and Lee now have a pair of twins, so it may be a while before we'll see her again."

"Ah, I see. I miss her. She had the prettiest hair. I miss everyone." At Sasuke's silent reply, he added, "And I've missed you too, Sasuke-teme," before landing a friendly punch on the shoulder and then tightly embracing him. "Glad you're back."

Sasuke was caught off guard at the sudden show of affection and, as was habit for him, he looked around him for any irksome on-lookers before returning the embrace. "Me, too," he whispered very quietly, treasuring the moment as he had before Naruto's musky scent. He suddenly stiffened when he felt a gentle peck on his cheek, and he wondered whether his shock was clearly channeled through his widened eyes, now as big as saucers, and the growing pink tint on his pale face like a blooming Sakura blossom.

"Don't do that again, _usuratonkachi_."

Naruto simply replied with a warming grin. "Any last things to do before we take off?"

"No."

"Great, let's go then! There's this really cool guy I'd like you to meet when we get up there—he can do this pretty cool variation on the _kage-bunshin no jutsu_. It's pretty sweet. Also…" Now with peace in heart, Sasuke did not tell Naruto to stop talking, even as he jabbered on and on and on…

Just as they reached the front door, Sasuke looked back at the kitchen countertop. Despite his efforts, the bowl of months-old ramen still rested there alone, untouched. But Sasuke smiled.

End

Note(s): This was an experimental fic (my first _Naruto_ one, too!), in story-telling and writing style, so I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it!


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